Mistletoe Kiss
by redcognito
Summary: Minisequel to The Crow and The Falcon. A story of Christmas time in Redditch.
1.

  
Title: Mistletoe Kiss   
Disclaimers: The Vampire Diaries, Stefan and Damon belong to L.J. Smith. The rest are mine. No profit is being made yadda yadda.  
  
This is nothing but pure pukey teen crushes and budding relationships. No supernatural storyline at all. It was the setup for the unfinished bigger sequel to TCATF, 'Loyalties', but I'm not inspired to finish it. If you want to read what I have of Loyalties, though, it's on my site. http://windiain.n3.net  
  
  
Mistletoe Kiss. (One)  
  
Christmas. A red-gold-green holiday that embodied the love and closeness of family relationships. Stefan Salvatore hadn't enjoyed Christmas since his childhood in Florence, and even then it had been a somewhat cold affair. Now, for what was possibly the first time ever, Stefan felt some of the glow of family warmth, and found himself feeling a little excited as the excitement of the younger Webbers grew as the day itself drew closer.  
  
He sat curled up in an oversized and overstuffed chair by the fire in the family room, the orange blaze bathing him with a pleasant heat, causing him to feel drowsy. He felt like, and perhaps resembled, a contented cat. If cats wore grey woollen socks, baggy black sweaters and held mugs of steaming hot-chocolate in their paws. The television was on, but he was only half watching it. He may not have enjoyed Christmas much in the past, but he knew all too well the season's film schedule. He'd already seen Star Wars several times, and most of those had been at Christmas.  
  
The whine of a TIE fighter was drowned out by a sudden shriek from outside, and Stefan grinned to himself without even flinching. One of the girls had probably suffered a snowball, if the following laughter had been anything to go by. He assumed it was Kirby, Jess's younger sister. The fact that there were no sounds of the perpetrator being executed a few seconds later confirmed it. He'd been out earlier on in the snow, and cornered Jess with a handful of snow, stuffing it down the neck of her jacket. He still wasn't sure how he'd ended up winded and on his back in the snow. He hadn't really expected Jess to retaliate like that, although the snow dumped on top of him was predictable, if not expected. The mischievous grin plastered over Jess's face as she did it told him she meant no malice, and considered them even again. Stefan didn't agree, and had spent the next hour trying to corner her again to pay her back. He'd given up for the day after Damon had asked him if he /liked/ being floored by the red-head, finding the question a little too embarrassingly uncomfortable.  
  
So now he sat in the front room, the ceiling and walls covered with holly, ivy, and red, gold and green streamers, the tree in the corner filled with decorations. Most of them had been made by various Webber children throughout the years, and all of them hung there, including a strange mangled mess that Mike had protested to it's going up every year since he'd made it. Art was not a strong point of his.  
  
Stefan looked up from the screen as Mike walked into the room rubbing his hands, and making a beeline for the fire.  
  
"I'm freezing my balls off out there." He commented, a grin on his face despite the complaint. "It's not been this cold for years. I don't know how he can do it."  
  
"Who can do what?" Stefan yawned, handing Mike his mug.  
  
"Damon. He's still out there playing with the kiddies. You sure you don't want this?" Mike asked, pointing to the chocolate.  
  
Stefan shook his head. "I won't finish it."  
  
"Jess and Damon still forcing this 'get back to eating' issue, huh?"  
  
Stefan grimaced. "It's not so bad. I actually /wanted/ the hot-chocolate. I just don't get /why/ I need to start eating and stuff again after all this time."  
  
"Such is life." Mike shrugged. "Full of little things we don't understand."  
  
"Yeah." Stefan snorted with laughter. "Like why the kids actually /like/ Damon so much."  
  
Mike chuckled, sitting on the chair opposite. "I think kids are like cats. They /know/ when someone doesn't like them, so they deliberately choose to sit on them to spite them."  
  
"But Damon likes /them/."  
  
"Hey, I never said the theory wasn't flawed. Maybe they know he likes them, then. He's good with kids. Mothers world wide would be clamouring to get him to look after their kids if they knew about him."  
  
"Not when they got older, they wouldn't." Stefan grinned, changing the channel with the remote. "It'd be a case of lock up your daughters and hope that he doesn't get to them."  
  
"Not to mention securing the chastity belt."  
  
"I don't think they ever /invented/ a chastity belt that Damon couldn't get open...why are you grinning like that?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.  
  
"No reason." Mike said blandly, biting back laughter.  
  
"I never went for women who wore chastity belts." Damon said from behind him, and Stefan leaped up with shock as cold, wet snow trickled down his back.  
  
"Freaking hell!" Stefan laughed, and launched himself over the back of the chair, landing on top of a startled Damon. "I just took a shower to warm up, now I'll have to take another." The pair rolled around the floor play fighting, jabbing and punching each other with a force that would bruise most humans, but hardly hurt them.  
  
"Kids!" Mike laughed as they rolled precariously close to the tree.  
  
"Hey, hey!" Hazel Webber poked her head around the door and fixed the pair with a stern gaze. "Not in the house, guys."  
  
"Sorry." Stefan mumbled, rising to his feet, and offering an arm to help Damon up with.  
  
Damon's lips kept twitching with laughter. "Sorry, M'Lady." He smiled, bowing deeply. "It won't happen again."  
  
"That's what you said the last time." Hazel muttered, but grinned anyway. Damon's charm always seemed to get him out of trouble.  
  
"What was that for?" Stefan asked, turning to his brother when Hazel had gone.  
  
"Jess bribed me. Not that it took much bribing. I thought it seemed like a good idea." He turned his smile on to Stefan, who in turn arched a brow, then shook his head grinning, unable to keep the stern act up.  
  
"What did she bribe you with?" Mike asked. Stefan sat back down opposite him, curling his feet up again.  
  
"Wouldn't /you/ like to know." Damon laughed.  
  
"I could just ask Jess." Mike pointed out.  
  
"Oh, you do know how to take the fun out of things."  
  
"I'd like to know what she offered. Or more to the point, what your price was." Stefan asked, suspicious.  
  
"Nothing like /that/, little brother." Damon laughed. "It was all very innocent. Something about doing my chores for next week."  
  
"A whole week?" Mike was surprised. "She'd be better snowballing Stefan herself, if that's the price."  
  
Damon turned to Mike, a bemused expression on his face. "But would she have been able to creep up on him? I think not. Nothing better than a vampire for stalking another vampire. No, I think I was very generous with my fee."  
  
"Could have been worse." Stefan pointed out. "At least he didn't demand a pint or so of blood."  
  
"That was tempting, but I don't think she'd fair well from that much blood loss. Last thing I want is an ill or unconscious diabetic on my hands."  
  
"Very wise." Mike nodded.  
  
"Speaking of whom, where is Jess? I think I need to dole out some payback." Stefan stretched lazily, and put his feet on the floor.  
  
"She was in the kitchen when I saw her. Lurking over the mince mix." Damon supplied.  
  
"In the basement." Mike said absently, then laughed at Damon's annoyance. "Twin thing."  
  
"I hate it when you do that. You never do it when it's useful, either of you." Damon growled.  
  
"Hey, it's not always a hundred percent certain thing. We're not identical, you know."  
  
"No, /really/. I'd not noticed. You really can't tell one from the other. How /do/ you tell the difference?" His voice was filled with sarcasm.  
  
"I'm the good looking one." Mike grinned.  
  
"Oh, so where's Mike, then?"  
  
"Hey! I'm better looking than you."  
  
"You wish."  
  
"Am too."  
  
"Oh, so how come I have no problems picking up the girls?"  
  
"Vampire Powers persuading them."  
  
"/I/ don't need Powers for that."  
  
Stefan laughed quietly to himself and headed off to the basement. The pair of them would keep on in this manner until one of them backed down, and /that/ could take quite a long time. Experience told him so.  
  
***  
  
Jessamyn Webber swore and pulled her hand back sharply. The old wooden box was riddled with splinters, and she frowned in annoyance as she pulled one from her finger, then stuck the wounded tip into her mouth to staunch the bleeding. She eyed the box warily for a moment, then cast her gaze around for something to protect her hands with. Nothing was forthcoming, and she sighed.  
  
"Need a hand?"  
  
"Uh?" Jess asked, whirling around, finger still in her mouth. Stefan stood there, the light from the small window at the top of the wall lighting up the grin on his handsome face. He was lounging against the wall by the steps, hands in pockets, and Jess felt a small pang of longing go through her. She hoped that his vision wasn't so good that he could see her flush in the half-dark, that he couldn't hear her heart beat that little bit faster. Normally everything was under control, she could hide her feelings. It was when he caught her off guard like this, when she was least expecting it, that she had problems. Not that Stefan seemed to notice. She guessed that he thought caught her at moments when she was wrapped in her own thoughts, which was, she supposed, what she was. It was when he caught her thinking about /him/ that she got a little flustered.  
  
She hadn't meant to fall in love with him. When they first met, it had been the last thing on her mind. She knew he was a great guy, and she liked him as a friend. He was a good friend, and after he moved in, when she got to know him better, she started falling in love. She'd rebelled against it at first, reminding herself of what he was, that things couldn't work out. It hadn't worked out with him and Elena, and he was head over heels in love with her. Why should it work out with her, with a girl he probably thought of as one of the guys? She knew she was better off not taking her feelings anywhere, but it didn't make her stop wanting him. So she kept it a secret, even from Mike. Although she suspected her brother knew, and Cookie had been giving her strange and thoughtful looks lately. That didn't worry her too much, but the sudden grins did. Like her friend /knew/ something she didn't, something she wouldn't elaborate on when questioned. She supposed it didn't matter, so long as Stefan didn't know. She'd die if he found out, and be devastated if she lost his friendship because of it.  
  
"You need any help?" Stefan asked again.  
  
Jess pulled her finger hastily from her mouth. "Um. Yes and no." She grinned. "Mom needs a box of Gran's old dishes. She's run out of crockery for the party. Problem is it's in a stupid box that's fighting back." She sighed.  
  
"You can see it in this darkness?" Stefan seemed a little surprised.  
  
"It's not /that/ dark. Human eyesight isn't that bad. There's enough light from the little window." She said. "Although it might be nice if someone replaced that broken bulb at some point."  
  
Stefan laughed. "What's the problem with the box? You can lift it okay?"  
  
"I would if I could get to it." She snorted. "Damn thing is covered in splinters and I can't get a grip."  
  
"That explains the finger."  
  
"Yeah." She grimaced.  
  
"You might want a Band-Aid on that. It's still bleeding."  
  
"Huh?" She looked closely and realised he was right.  
  
"I can smell it." He explained, shrugging. "Tell you what, you go get a light bulb and a Band-Aid, and I'll bring the box." He suggested.  
  
"Thanks." Jess replied, grinning with relief. "You might want something for your hands, though."  
  
"Nah. I'll be fine." He smiled.  
  
"Okay then, if you're sure. It's this one." She told him, pointing. She moved for the steps and slipped past him, her sweater brushing his as she climbed the stairs into the kitchen.  
  
"You have the box, honey?" Her mom asked her as she came through the door.  
  
"Stefan's bringing it up. The box is too splintery to carry without gloves. I think we should pack the stuff back up in a new box when we're done. Use the old one for fire-wood or something." Jess told her mom as she stuck a Band-Aid on her finger and began hunting through the cupboards.  
  
"Okay, we'll do that. Last thing I want is any of the kids playing down there and getting injured from it."  
  
Stefan emerged a moment later from the basement, sweater covered with splinters. "Where do you want this?" He asked, placing it on the table at Hazel's direction, then brushed the splinters from his hands, and /tried/ to remove them from his clothes.  
  
"Hey mom, have we got any spare light bulbs?" Jess asked, opening another cupboard.  
  
"Top left-hand cupboard."  
  
"Cool." Jess said, and began to climb the counter to get to it.  
  
"Jess, why don't you use the step ladder?"  
  
"It's too easy, mom." Jess laughed, opening the cupboard and grabbing a bulb. One of the cats chose that moment to jump onto the counter. The shock from the contact it's fur made with her bare ankle caused her to slip and lose her footing. She tumbled from the side to her mother's dismay and fear, only to find herself land safely in Stefan's strong and gentle arms. Her breath caught in her throat, more from the contact with Stefan than the shock of falling.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asked, concern written all over his face.  
  
"I'm fine." Jess smiled. She had no idea how she said that so steadily. "Thanks for saving me."  
  
"Anytime." He smiled back, putting her gently on her feet. Was it her imagination, she wondered, or did Stefan hold on to her a little longer than necessary?  
  
"Next time, young lady, you use the step-ladder." Her mom told her in a stern but relieved tone.  
  
"Sure, whatever, mom." Jess sighed, then turned to Stefan and waved the light bulb at him. "Hey, I didn't drop it." She grinned.  
  
"Where's the light?" Stefan asked, plucking it from her fingers.  
  
"I can do it." She protested.  
  
"Not shaking the way you are you're not." He told her, and she frowned as she realised he was right. She /was/ shaking a little. She felt a twinge of annoyance with herself, then pushed it to one side as she directed Stefan to the bulb socket at the top of the steps. She couldn't help admiring his body as he stretched up to twist the bulb in place.  
  
"Let there be light." He said, and flipped the switch. The bulb lit the basement up like it hadn't been for at least a year. Jess blinked in surprise as Stefan's dilated eyes suddenly reduced to a more 'normal' size. "Whoa. So /that's/ what the basement looks like." He laughed, and Jess laughed with him, sharing a silly joke that was just theirs. It made Jess feel light headed and happy, and the buzz stayed with her for the rest of the day.  
  
  



	2. 

  
Mistletoe Kiss (Two)  
  
Stefan was jerked awake at five o'clock on Christmas Morning. He'd only managed to get to sleep a few hours earlier, having caught part of the Christmas Eve bug from the children, and had spent most of the night staring mindlessly at the ceiling before drifting off to sleep.  
  
"Stefan?" A small voice asked quietly.  
  
Stefan cracked open one eyes to see seven year old Jamie Webber standing there, clutching at his worn baby blanket. "Jamie." He yawned. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Can we open our presents yet?"  
  
"Huh?" He looked past the small boy to the doorway to find Aaron and Lisa staring in hopefully. He wondered vaguely why they were asking him of all people, until a stray memory passed through his consciousness. He vaguely remembered that everyone else barricaded their doors so that /this/ wouldn't happen to them. He'd forgotten, and had therefore been lumbered with a situation that was totally new to him. He wondered for a moment why they hadn't gone to Damon. They liked Stefan, yes, but they adored Damon. Probably because he knew how to deal with them. Stefan could only assume that Damon had decided to lock his own door the night before. He did that occasionally, especially when he went out hunting. Both of them preferred to keep that aspect of their nature as private as possible.  
  
"So, can we?" Jamie asked again, a little nervously.  
  
Stefan groaned, then pulled the blankets back after a moment or two of psyching himself up. It was going to be a long day, he guessed. "I guess you can open your presents from Santa." He yawned again, and couldn't help grinning as all three children yelled in triumph and rushed down to the family room, fighting with each other to get there first. Stefan shook his head, and followed them down.  
  
Hazel and her husband, Sam, found him sprawled half conscious in the over-stuffed chair an hour or so later. He was awake enough to keep an eye on the children, but sleep had called to him, so he'd settled for a light doze.  
  
"Merry Christmas. Welcome to the morning club." Sam grinned, pushing a mug of coffee into Stefan's hand.  
  
"Uh. Yeah. Merry Christmas. Rather not be here at the minute, though." Stefan blinked, and accepted the mug. "Thanks."  
  
"I have no idea if caffeine does anything for you, but you can hope." Sam chuckled, taking a mouthful from his own mug.  
  
"It'll wake me up a little." Stefan replied, taking a tentative sip. Yet again he wondered why he was bothering with this food thing. Damon had said that it made him 'fit in' more with humans and made it easier to hide. Stefan had lasted the past five hundred years without eating on a regular basis, and had told his brother so. Damon just frowned and muttered about how amazing it was Stefan could accept that part of his nature and not the rest, to which Stefan had pointed out the fact that Damon hadn't given up /everything/ human himself if his eating habits were anything to judge by. The pair had sulked at each other for the rest of the day, and neither had given in. It was Jess sending him on a guilt trip that did it. She'd told him that it was when you /couldn't/eat certain nice foods that you appreciated what you were missing out on, and Stefan had felt more than obliged to try when he took into consideration the fact that Jess didn't have any choice in not eating some things. Which still begged the question of /why,/he was doing it. Jess did strange things to him, and he didn't like exploring those emotions, especially so soon after Elena.  
  
"Earth to Stefan." Sam said, waving a hand in front of his face.  
  
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Miles away there." Stefan mustered a smile.  
  
"Maybe you should go back to bed?" Sam suggested sympathetically. "No one else will be up for a few more hours yet."  
  
"No point, really. I've only had an hour or so of sleep. If I sleep now and get up then, I'll be even more tired."  
  
"Sure?"  
  
"Yeah. No big deal, I've had less sleep than this some nights." He winced a little as Lisa shrieked in delight over a Barbie doll. The pitch was a little too high for his tired and sensitive ears. "However, I think I'll go and help Hazel in the kitchen or something. I don't think my ears can take much more of this."  
  
Hazel set him to peeling a bag full of potatoes when he offered his services. He sat at the large wooden table in the centre of the kitchen, deftly peeling away the potato skin and putting the creamy-coloured insides into a large pan of water. Stefan had been told in the weeks coming up to Christmas about the usual celebrations. Christmas dinner was normally held in one of three places, alternating between the Webbers, the Tates and the Thompsons. All the families were close friends, and getting together made it more of a party. Stefan had been surprised to learn that Cookie's mom hosted the Christmas dinner, until he learned that the Tates celebrated the Solstice and exchanged presents on the twenty-first. Christmas day was just an excuse for a party, and neither of the other two families particularly bothered with the religious angle of Christmas, preferring to concentrate on the family aspect. This year the Webbers were hosting the party, and the other two families were expected just before midday.  
  
"How many of these do you want doing?" Stefan asked after a while.  
  
"Do the whole bag." Hazel replied after a moment's thought. "That should be enough to feed nineteen people." She said. "Unless you're not eating?" She asked.  
  
"I'll /try/ to eat." Stefan grinned.  
  
"You shouldn't let Jess pressure you into this if you don't want to do it." Hazel commented. "She can be a stubborn bully at times."  
  
"Really, I don't mind. Besides, Damon's as much to blame, and when he gets it in his head to pressure someone, they have no choice but to back down."  
  
"Unless you're just as stubborn." Hazel laughed.  
  
"Then he resorts to physical coercion."  
  
"Do or die, eh?" Hazel shook her head in mock despair, still laughing.  
  
"Yeah. You want these moving to the stove?" Stefan indicated to the peeled potatoes.  
  
"Please, at the back."  
  
"Anything else need doing?" He asked as he lifted the heavy pan with ease and carried it to the stove.  
  
"There's probably plenty you can do. How about peeling the carrots?"  
  
"Sure. How many?"  
  
"Uh, the..."  
  
"Whole bag." Stefan finished for her, grinning.  
  
"You must be psychic." Hazel laughed, and turned back to making the stuffing for the turkey, humming quietly as she worked. She had a good voice. Mike had inherited his musical talent from his mother, and it was obvious Jess had, too, when she could be enticed to sing, which wasn't often. Hazel Webber was the owner and director of a small music company. Although not in the big league, it made plenty of money. Sam Webber was an architect, working in a small office in Redditch, a branch of a bigger company in the city. Stefan grinned, and set to work, enjoying the sound.  
  
***  
  
Jess crawled out of bed at nine o'clock, roused by music blasting from Damon's room. She stomped out of her room, scratching her head and raking her fingers through her messy hair.  
  
'/There's a Victorian tin   
I keep my memories in.   
Found it up in the attic,   
After looking inside   
I find the things that   
I'm hiding.   
The leaves saved from a mistletoe kiss,   
Only nostalgia has me feeling like this,   
Like I miss you,   
It must be the time of year.  
  
Do you remember December,   
It's like a winter green   
Beside a diamond stream.   
Remember, December,   
How does it make you feel inside./'  
  
"Damon!" She yelled, banging on the door. "It's too early!"  
  
The door clicked open, and revealing a grinning Damon, waist wrapped with a towel, hair damp. He was obviously fresh out of the shower.  
  
"Merry Christmas to you, too, Jessamyn." He said cheerfully.  
  
"Yeah. Whatever. Turn the damn music down." He had a nice body. A /very/ nice body. Lean and muscled, flat stomach and a firm chest. Most women would die for that body, Jess might have died for that body. If she wasn't thinking about Stefan instead.  
  
"I swear you're worse in the mornings than I am." Damon rolled his eyes, but turned the volume down a notch anyway. "Besides, everyone else is up. Don't you want to open your presents from Santa Claus?"  
  
"He probably avoided this place in case he ran into you."  
  
"Moi? But I've been /good/ all year." He said, an innocent hurt look on his face.  
  
It didn't wash with Jess. "He's probably scared he'll leave with a few pints less than he came with."  
  
"Too old for my tastes." Damon shrugged, then grinned evilly. "Then again, with the amount of sherry kids around the world leave him, the alcohol level in his blood could have some very /interesting/ side effects."  
  
"You're incorrigible." Jess smiled a little.  
  
"Of course." Damon bowed, and Jess had to make a conscious effort not to look at what was revealed when the towel moved as he did it. She blushed a little, and Damon flashed a huge smile, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. *He probably does.* She thought grimly.  
  
"I'll leave you to it, then." Jess said, coughing a little in embarrassment.  
  
"Thank you kindly." He replied. "Close the door when you leave, if you please." He was still smiling at her. She hastily shut the door behind her, and breathed a sigh of relief as she headed for her room.  
  
((And don't go back to bed. You might as well stay up now.)) Jess winced. She hated it when he did that. It left her ears ringing, and it annoyed her because she couldn't reply. She could /sometimes/ do it with Mike, but the twins operated on a different level to the vampires, and neither of them were psychic like Cookie. So the pair of them suffered in relative silence.  
  
When Jess finally emerged in the family room it turned out that not everyone was up after all, and it was a good half an hour before Paul roused himself from his attic and crawled down to join them. During that time Jess kept shooting Damon annoyed glances for making her get up, while the children became impatient for presents, the ones from 'Santa' earlier on having lost some of their novelty. Jess's initial grumpiness had worn off as the morning went on, and her enthusiasm perked up as the presents were handed out.  
  
The sweaters knitted by Great Aunt Emma were a standing joke amongst the Webber family, and they hadn't escaped them this year. Sleeves were often too long, collars too wide and the colours tended to clash horribly, but everyone wore them for at least that day, just for the humour of it.  
  
The twins' present that Christmas had been a car of their own. They'd been given it a week or so before, having been with their father to pick one out. Mike had been overly impressed with Damon's Ferrari, and had spent the months following his arrival by badgering his parents for a car. They'd finally given in on the condition that the twins shared it. Jess had agreed simply because she thought a car would be handy, and she couldn't think of anything else that she wanted for Christmas. Ferrari it wasn't, but it was still a nice car, metallic grey, on Jess's insistence, to reduce the amount of cleaning it would need. Grey hid dirt well.  
  
"So how's the sweater?" Stefan asked, sitting on the floor next to her.  
  
Jess laughed, flapping a sleeve that was a hand or two too long. "I'm drowning in it."  
  
"Thank God I escaped it, then."  
  
"Ha. I bet she'll remember you guys next year, then you'll be forced to wear them with the rest of us." Jess teased.  
  
"I think I'll develop an allergy to wool, then."  
  
"Vampires don't have allergies."  
  
"Sunlight. That's a definite allergy."  
  
"Good point. Just don't let Aunt Em know, or she'll knit you extra to keep you warm out of the sun."  
  
"How old is she, anyway?"  
  
"Uh, a hundred and seven I /think/."  
  
"A mere child." Stefan joked.  
  
"Don't tell her that, either. She'll batter your ears for lack of respect."  
  
"Maybe I won't meet her then."  
  
"Yeah. She won't measure you up for a sweater then, and you might end up with one the right size."  
  
"I think I can live without." He said, pulling at the sleeve of hers. "You think this thing stretches?" He asked, tugging a little harder.  
  
"No!" She shrieked. "I'll be lost in it if it gets any bigger, and you'll never find me again. After a few years, explorers will find my little skeleton hidden away in the fibres."  
  
"I dunno. I could just unravel it to get to you if it came to that."  
  
"My knight in shining armour." She laughed, and attacked him with a torn strip of wrapping paper. He attacked back, and they dissolved into laughter on the floor.  
  
===  
  
Note: The song 'December' is by All About Eve.  
  
It was pointed out to me that the sherry comment Damon makes might confuse some Americans, as it's apparantly a tradition you don't have. In the UK, it's traditional to leave a glass of sherry and a mince pie by the fire for santa claus (and a carrot for Rudolph for some people).  
  
  



	3. 

  
Mistletoe Kiss (Three)  
  
"So how come they get wine and we don't?" Cookie protested loudly, implying Stefan and Damon.  
  
"We're older than you." Damon said smugly.  
  
"Big deal. You don't act it." She retorted, flipping a flame red lock of hair behind her shoulder. The red hair had been a shock. Stefan had been expecting her usual blue, and had to look twice before he recognised her. Apparently she'd dyed it red for the festive season.  
  
Damon's own response had been far more amusing. He'd done a double take himself, then voiced his shock. "Your hair's red." He'd said.  
  
Cookie eyes had grown wide, and her hands flew to her head. "No, /really/?" She'd shrieked. "Oh, no, I can't think how /that/ could possibly have happened. It wasn't like it yesterday. Those damned pixies must have been colouring my hair again with felt tip pens while I was sleeping."  
  
"Sarcasm doesn't suit you." Damon had said dryly.  
  
"Shame. I thought it did." She'd retorted, then skipped off into the kitchen. In Stefan's opinion his brother had opened himself up to that one.  
  
Now they were all seated in the family room as dinner settled. Plans were that they would go out to the community party that evening. It was a huge town party that almost everyone in Redditch attended, the proceeds going to some local charity or another. Normally, like this year, it was held in the high school gym.  
  
"You're not old enough for wine, young lady." Abigail Tate had told her daughter.  
  
"Uh huh. So what about the ritual wine."  
  
"That's different."  
  
Stefan grinned as Cookie changed tactics.  
  
"Aww, come on mom. /Please/ let us drink some wine this year. We're eighteen." She whined.  
  
Abigail had exchanged glances with the other adults in the room. Hazel spoke up finally.  
  
"Okay. I guess you guys can drink wine this year." Everyone cheered. "But no one under the age of eighteen is to touch a drop."  
  
"Aw, mom." Kirby started whining and began to sulk. "That's not fair."  
  
"Hey, /I/ wasn't allowed to drink at sixteen, so I don't see why you should." Jess said smugly.  
  
"Any more crowing, Jessamyn Webber, and you won't be drinking either." Hazel said sternly. Kirby grinned and poked her tongue out at Jess behind her mother's back.  
  
"Should you be drinking it at all, Jess?" Stefan asked her quietly. She'd spoken a bit about her diabetes and he was pretty certain alcohol wasn't good for her.  
  
"I can have a little bit." She said. "A taster. A glass won't do me permanent damage." She'd replied. Stefan made a mental note to keep an eye on her. Everyone else was overly excited about having permission to drink. Chances are they'd wake up the next morning with bad hangovers, and if they were going to drink that much, he doubted Jess would be able to stick to just one glass.  
  
"Hey, Jess, what are you wearing tonight?" Zia asked, approaching the pair.  
  
"I have no idea." Jess grinned. "I'll probably just grab something from my wardrobe."  
  
"No way. There are gonna be some cute guys from the college there tonight, so we're gonna get dolled up." Zia laughed. "We need some men in our lives."  
  
Jess looked unsure. "I dunno about the guys."  
  
"That's not like you. What's up?"  
  
"Nothing. I just feel like having fun with you guys."  
  
"Whatever. You're nuts. And you're still getting dressed up."  
  
"Do I have to?" Jess moaned.  
  
"It'll be fun. I have this cool hair glitter."  
  
"No way!" Jess laughed. "I'm still picking bits out of my rug from the last time we used that stuff."  
  
"So a little extra won't show." Zia grinned and dragged Jess towards her room. Stefan watched after them, a melancholy mood settling on him. He wasn't sure why. It was when Zia had mentioned guys from college. *Feeling jealous, eh, Stefan?* He shook the thought off. It was too soon after Elena, he told himself, but the feeling didn't go away.  
  
***  
  
Stefan had been dressed for a half hour. They were gathered in the hallway waiting for Cookie, Jess and Zia. The adults had left a short while ago, taking the younger kids with them.  
  
"Why is it girls take so long to get dressed?" Adam groused, staring at his watch.  
  
"I think it's a genetic thing dating back from when it took hours to put corsets and stuff on." Stefan grinned. "They seem to regard it as an excuse to take ages."  
  
"Well, it's annoying...whoa." He broke off and stared wide eyed up the stairs. "Cookie, if you weren't my sister, I'd say you looked really hot."  
  
"I am your sister." She called down laughing.  
  
"Then you're butt ugly." Adam grinned.  
  
"You, too." Cookie snorted. A lie from the pair of them. Adam was good looking, and the wire-rimmed glasses he sometimes wore only added to his looks. He wasn't wearing them tonight, which meant his brown bangs weren't interfering with his vision too much. Stefan had to admit that Cookie /did/ look good. She wore a long velvet dress, dark blue, almost black. The bodice was low-cut, revealing more cleavage than Stefan thought she had, and the skirt flared out from the hip, to her ankles. She wore a pair of ankle boots with inch high heels, and her hair, normally held up in some fashion, cascaded down her back like molten lava.  
  
Zia followed her down a few moments later with Jess. Zia's outfit was simple but elegant. She wore a tight burgundy jacket with matching trousers, the whole outfit showing off her lithe dancer's body. Her blonde hair was loose like Cookie's, and little flashes like stars glowed as her hair caught the light. Stefan hated to think how much of the glitter had ended up on Jess's carpet, but it did produce an enchanting effect.  
  
But it was Jess that caught his attention. She was dressed the simplest out of the three, her own dress a classic example of the 'little black number', black stockings, and a pair of flat heeled shoes. Her chin length red hair was pulled back at the sides, and held at the back with a silver clip, Celtic in design, and probably belonging to Cookie. She looked elegant and sophisticated in it, and Stefan's mouth hung open. Admittedly the other two were dressed to kill, and Jess wasn't. He guessed she'd down-played on what Cookie and Zia wanted her to wear, but despite this, he still found himself drawn to her. He didn't understand, he didn't /want/to understand. It frightened him more than a little.  
  
"Shall we go, then?" Adam asked, grinning and following Damon to the door. "I'm sure there are some lucky guys out there that these three want to get their claws into."  
  
"Meow." Cookie purred, and hooked her long nails into claws.  
  
"I pity the guys that fall into your clutches." Mike muttered.  
  
"It might be you." Cookie growled dangerously.  
  
"Uh uh." Mike said hurriedly. "If you're on the prowl, I'm gay for the evening."  
  
"Thanks. You really know how to make a girl feel good about herself." Cookie pouted. "But if you find any nice young men you don't want, send them my way." She laughed as Mike blew a raspberry at her.  
  
"Uh, no thanks." He said. "I have my eye on Robyn Winston."  
  
"What does she have that I don't?" Cookie grumbled.  
  
"Really long legs to die for and..."  
  
"And what?"  
  
"Uh...really big...uh..."  
  
"Really big what?" A dangerous gleam had entered her eyes.  
  
"Uh...hooters." Mike said quietly, shrinking back. Cookie punched him hard in the arm. "Ow! What was that for?"  
  
"Men are so shallow. And sexist. And hooters is a vile word." She sniffed, and walked out of the door. Stefan watched her go, holding his hand over his mouth to hide his grin.  
  
"Hey." Zia said suddenly. "You two are standing under the mistletoe."  
  
"Huh?" Stefan asked.  
  
"Oh. Yeah." Jess said, looking up and eyeing the sprigs warily.  
  
"You have to kiss, now." Zia said, a little too gleefully for Stefan's liking. He looked at Jess, who arched a brow and shrugged. He leaned down a little closing his eyes, brushed his lips gently against her lips, and started to pull away. But before he could stop himself, he found himself bending down again, his lips meeting with hers once more. Her lips parted, and their mouths joined together in a sweet and passionate embrace. Shivers ran up and down his spine, the pressure of her lips on his own taking his breath away. It wasn't intense, not the way it had been with Elena, but somehow that made it sweeter, more innocent. Where kisses with Elena had set his soul on fire with passion and need, this kiss made his soul weep with it's gentle tenderness. It startled and dismayed him when she broke off suddenly, and stared into his eyes like a frightened animal. He stared back, his own eyes wide with shock. She turned abruptly, and ran up the stairs, a small sob escaping her body. Mike and Zia stared after her, then looked at Stefan.  
  
"What was that about?" Mike whispered.  
  
"I...I don't know." Stefan's thoughts were jumbled. "But I'm going to find out. We'll catch up with you later." He said firmly, rushing up the stairs after Jess. Zia and Mike watched him go.  
  
***  
  
Jess slammed her bedroom door shut behind her, twisting the key in the lock, then throwing herself onto her bed. Her breath was ragged, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She hadn't meant for that to happen. She hadn't meant to kiss him that way. She'd dropped herself in a real mess now, and she knew it. Stefan wasn't stupid. He had to have guessed now how she felt, and things wouldn't be the same again. She'd lose his friendship. Another sob burst out, and she buried her face in her pillow.  
  
There was a gentle, and tentative knock on the door. "Jess? Are you there?" Stefan. *Oh, God.* She thought. *How can I face him now?* She kept quiet. The handle turned, and then Stefan knocked again, a little more sure now. "Come on, Jess. I know you're in there, and we need to talk."  
  
"Go away." She sniffled.  
  
"I understand that you don't want to see me, after what I did. I'm sorry. It shouldn't have happened. But we need to talk." He sounded lost, and a little scared.  
  
Jess sat up, frowning a little through her tears. *What /he/ did? What's he got to be sorry about? This is my fault, /I/ kissed /him/.*  
  
"Please, Jess."  
  
"I can't talk at the moment." Jess cried.  
  
Stefan changed tactics. "I can stand out here for however long it takes." He said, stubbornly. "You'll have to come out some time." He had a point. Jess sighed, pulling her clip from her hair, letting it cover her face to hide the tears. She didn't need a mirror to tell her she looked a mess, she always looked a mess when she cried. Reluctantly she got up from the bed, and unlocked the door. She trudged back across the room as Stefan opened the door and slipped in behind her.  
  
"Sit where you want." She mumbled, sitting back on her bed. He stayed standing. *Not good.* She thought miserably.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asked. He sounded weary. She shrugged in response, still not looking him in the eye. "Look, Jess. I'm sorry. I shouldn't..." Jess looked at him then, and burst into tears. His expression became alarmed.  
  
"What have /you/ got to be sorry about?" She wailed. "It's all my fault, and I've ruined our friendship totally now. I didn't mean to do it. I /tried/ not to do it, tried to hide my feelings. But it was too hard. Now I've blown it."  
  
"What do you mean /you've/ blown it?" Stefan was visibly confused. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"How I feel about you." Jess moaned. "I tried not to do it, I tried my damned hardest, then I tried to forget about it, to hide my feelings."  
  
"What feelings?"  
  
"I fell in love with you." Stefan flinched back a little as she yelled it at him, then his face lit up with understanding.  
  
"Oh." He said simply.  
  
"Yeah. Oh." Jess whispered. "I knew this would happen, so I didn't want to tell you. But the mistletoe thing was too hard, and I'd had too much wine to drink, and so I blew it."  
  
Stefan sat down then, next to her on the edge of the bed. They were silent for a few minutes, Jess wallowing in self pity. He spoke up finally. "You love me?" His voice was filled with a strange kind of wonder.  
  
"Yeah." Jess shrugged, staring at the carpet.  
  
"You know what I am, and yet you still love me?"  
  
"You're you. I don't see how anybody /couldn't/ love you. I can see why Elena loved you so much." She wiped at her nose with her blanket. "And I'm sorry about the kiss. I didn't mean to do it, and I wish I hadn't now. I don't want to ruin our friendship."  
  
"You're sorry?" Stefan's voice was incredulous. "But I was the one who kissed /you/." Jess's head flew up in surprise, but Stefan continued. "I was going to tell you the same. That it was my fault, that I shouldn't have kissed you. I don't know why I did it. It just...happened. And...and I think I love you."  
  
Fresh tears sprung up in Jess's eyes. "Think?" She whispered, almost holding her breath.  
  
"No, I /know/ I love you." Stefan looked down at the floor. "I've been feeling things for a long time now, but I refused to accept them for what they were, refused to take notice of my feelings. It seemed too soon after Elena. I didn't think there /could/ be anyone after Elena. When she died, it broke my heart. She was my life. I didn't want anyone else, I /wanted/ to die, to be with her. Then, when she came back, I thought that she was the only one for me. I'd regained my life, and my soul. But things started to go wrong, and I guess when we broke up, I thought that there could never be anyone like Elena again. I suppose I was right /and/wrong.  
  
"There won't ever be anyone like Elena, but that's no bad thing. Elena is Elena. I loved her for who she was, an individual. So there /won't/ be another person like Elena. But people /are/different. You love them for different reasons. Only it took the kiss to make me realise it." He looked at her then, and took her hand in his, holding it gently on the bed sheets. "You're so different to Elena. You're both strong, passionate and caring people. But you're still totally different. Elena was filled with a passion for what she did, she was a blazing beacon of light that drew people to her. You, you're full of energy and life, full of happiness. You're like the wind, you run free, and you touch everyone. Elena set people's souls on fire, you calm them, you protect them, make them feel secure. Yet you're just as much a fighter." He sighed. "I don't know. I guess it's wrong to compare you both in this way, but it helps me sort my thoughts out. I think what I'm trying to say is that I love you just as much as I loved Elena, in the same way, but for different reasons. For your individuality. Just as I loved Katherine differently to Elena, I love you differently."  
  
Jess listened wide eyed as he spoke, her chest expanding with hope and love. "It's taken you five hundred years to work that out?"  
  
"No. It's taken me five minutes, but I was too stubborn to think of it before, I suppose." He grinned.  
  
"So what do we do now?" Jess asked, staring at their entwined hands.  
  
Stefan shrugged. "Give it a go. I can't promise everything will work out, that we'll be perfect together. I want to try. I love you, and I'd like to show it, to express it and explore it. It depends on what you want to do, too, though."  
  
Jess looked up, a smile spreading across her face. She leaned over, and kissed him softly as her answer. "I want to try." She said, breaking away, a small laugh escaping her lips. "Hell, it'll drive me crazy if I don't."  
  
Stefan pulled her close to him, and they sat together, quietly contemplating their thoughts and feelings, and enjoying the closeness of the other.  
  
***  
  
Everyone had converged on Jess's room after the party, dying to find out what had happened to make the pair miss out on the fun. Mike and Zia had told everyone what had happened in the hallway, and Cookie had shrieked in delight when she found out the outcome, yelling in triumph that she knew it would happen. Damon had earned himself a fist in the stomach when he'd enquired if she'd seen if she and he would get together. He took it as a no, and gave in gallantly.  
  
After Christmas was over, Jess personally took down the sprig of mistletoe in the hallway, putting it carefully and lovingly into her keepsake box. She briefly traced the carved lid of the box with her fingers before putting it back safely under her bed, and ran down to join Stefan for the evening. Together.  
  
~*The End*~  
  
  



End file.
